


so take a chance

by ackermanx



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: M/M, Other Characters Are Mentioned, background frederick/henry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-24
Updated: 2017-03-24
Packaged: 2018-10-10 02:53:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10427547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ackermanx/pseuds/ackermanx
Summary: Two strong arms catch Robin, suspending him two feet above the ground."We really need to stop meeting like this," Robin splutters through his tomato-red face, hurriedly righting himself and trying not to think about how nice it had been to be in Chrom's arms for those few brief seconds.To make things even worse, Chrom starts laughing. Not the delicate kind of laugh, either - the loud, booming, fill-a-room kind of laugh.Robin immediately decides that this was a bad idea. A very bad idea.





	

**Author's Note:**

> do you ever just. die
> 
> commission for kairi!!!!!!!!!!!!!! dear lord this was supposed to be a coffeeshop au but it developed a mind of its own and ran away from me at the speed of light so I'M SO SORRY ABOUT THAT oTL
> 
> in other news: fire emblem has taken over my life thanks for nothing nintendo . i hate it so much (no really i love it fire emblem changed my life i'm so sorry if you followed me before i got into fe because i've fallen deep into hell and fallen FAST)
> 
> anyways . coughs . ya enjoy this gay mess of a fic

"...Robin? Hey, Robin! Are you listening to me?"

Exasperated, Robin drops his pen and pushes back from his desk, giving up all hope of getting anything done for the rest of the day. "What did you do this time, Henry?"

"Rude! Not everything I do is destructive." Robin can practically hear Henry stick out his tongue. "Freddy's coming over later, and you miiiiight not want to be here when we - "

"Whoa, okay, stop right there; I don't know if the two of you are going to burn down the apartment or mess up the bed, but at least try not to do the former, yeah?"

Robin turns back around, grabs a bag, and starts shoving study materials into it. "And 'Freddy'? Really?"

"He doesn't mind!"

Snorting, Robin picks up his bag and slings it over his shoulder. "Well, I'll be at the coffee shop near uni, so if you need me…"

Henry shoos Robin out of the house, a far-too-gleeful smile on his face. "Don't worry about it! We won't need you at all. So you go study or do whatever boring thing you have to do, and I'll text when we're done, 'kay?"

"Fine with me."

Robin grabs his keys from the table by the door, then decides to throw one last comment over his shoulder. "Really, though, try not to destroy anything. I don't think we have enough money right now to replace any appliances."

The last thing Robin hears before he closes the door is a worrying laugh.

\-------------------------------------------------------------

In hindsight, Robin should have known better than to go to a coffee shop.

More specifically, he should have known better than to go to the coffee shop near uni, where every single person he knew went to study. Especially in the month leading up to finals week.

Unfortunately, Robin only realizes his mistake after he steps into the cafe, so he resorts to internally cursing himself while squinting into the farthest recesses of the room, scanning over every single table for an empty seat.

After a few passes around the room, Robin is ready to give up and take his chances with Henry and Frederick back home when he finally spots an empty space across from a blue-haired boy.

Robin has never walked faster.

"Um...Hello! Is anyone - is it alright if I sit here?" Holding his breath, Robin watches as the other male raises his head from his textbook, blinks once, then breaks into a grin that Robin swears makes his heart skip a beat.

"No, please, help yourself." The other lets out a small chuckle as Robin slides into the seat and dumps his bad on the ground. "This may sound odd, but...it was actually getting rather lonely here with no one else to talk to."

Robin grimaces in sympathy as he lays out his notes. "Yeah, I get the same feeling in class, sometimes. So many people, but not enough friends, yeah?"

"Oh, definitely." The other chuckles, ducking his head and seemingly focusing back on his studies.

Robin closes his mouth, restraining himself from disturbing the relative peace and quiet around their table, and buries his own head into his books.

...Or, he tries to, but Robin's curiosity gets the best of him, and he can't help peeking up through his bangs to peer at whatever the blue-haired boy is frantically writing and -

"You keep doing the derivative instead of the antiderivative." Robin blurts out before clapping a hand over his mouth.

A pencil stills.

"Sorry, what did you say?"

"I - um - " Robin stutters, eyes darting to the exit and wondering whether or not he could make a speedy escape. "The reason why you keep getting those problems wrong is because you, um, you're using the derivative to calculate the area instead of the - "

"Oh, my god. Thank you so much."

A hand is suddenly thrust in Robin's direction, startling him into immediately taking it.

"Sorry for not introducing myself earlier, by the way. I'm a bit absentminded at the moment; my name's Chrom."

"Well, hello, Chrom." Robin smiles, trying very hard not to find this...Chrom adorable. "I'm Robin. And - not to sound presumptuous or anything, but do you need any more help?"

"God, yes," Chrom groans, pushing his notes farther away from himself. "I'm actually more of a sports person; I never did that well with academics."

Robin glances at the notebook page filled with scribbles, then at Chrom's well-defined arms - stop, what are you doing - and raises an eyebrow. "Yeah. I, um, I can tell."

Chrom throws a lighthearted grin across the table. "Let me guess. STEM major?"

"Somewhere along those lines." Robin makes a face. "I haven't actually decided yet. Now, how about those math problems?"

"Alright, alright." Grinning sheepishly, Chrom surrenders his worksheets to the white-haired male. "I should warn you, I'm absolutely hopeless at anything concerning math."

"We'll see about that," Robin smirks. "Shall we begin?"

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------

"Oh? You seem happy today."

Henry peers curiously at Robin, who was indeed stirring pasta with more vigor than usual. "Did something happen while you were out?"

"Actually, yes." Robin turns to add more pasta to the pot, steadily ignoring the interested looks that Henry was sending his way. "There was a nice guy there today who was willing to let me share his table. I ended up tutoring him in math, and - wait a minute."

Robin whirls around suddenly, pointing his ladle at Henry. "You know Chrom, don't you?"

Henry immediately bursts into almost-maniacal laughter, startling Robin into almost dropping the ladle. "Know him? Who doesn't know Chrom?"

"Um." Robin blinks. "Me, apparently."

"You're cute." Henry ruffles Robin's hair, then practically bounces forward to stick his own finger into the pot. "He's only, like, one of the most popular student athletes here."

Yanking Henry's arm away from the boiling water, Robin can't help but let out a tired sigh. "So, I'm guessing that someone from school saw us and is spreading rumors as we speak?"

"Mhm!" Henry cheerfully sucks on his scalded finger, not even bothering to run it under cold water. "I wouldn't worry about it, though. Nothing you can't handle!"

"Well, thanks for the vote of confidence," Robin mutters. "Now get over here and help me serve all this."

"Ooh, gonna have to pass on that." Throwing a mysterious grin over his shoulder, Henry saunters out of the kitchen. "Still sore from earlier, y'know!"

Robin rolls his eyes and reaches for another bowl. "Glad you can still find time to get laid."

("Aw, loosen up!" is the last thing that Robin hears before the sound of glass breaking reaches his ears.)

\------------------------------------------------------------

"Robin! Hey! Uh, it was Robin, right?"

Startled, Robin trips over a crack in the sidewalk.

A strong, warm hand reaches out to grab Robin's arm, steadying him. Embarrassed, Robin keeps his eyes down, mumbling out a quick "sorry" and "thanks" before registering where he had heard that voice before. 

"Chrom?" he hisses, head snapping up to meet the blue-haired male's eyes. 

"Yeah, it's me." Chrom smiles (nervously, Robin almost thinks). "I saw you over here, and I just wanted to ask you something - oh, wait. Am I bothering you?"

"No! No, you're fine, I just. Um."

Robin dares a glance at Chrom's friend group - a tiny blond girl, an orange-haired male sucking on what Robin hopes is a lollipop, and a rather young-looking female wearing...revealing clothing were all looking at him and Chrom, exchanging looks and stifling giggles behind hands.

Curious, Robin looks down to see what they were so amused about. 

His face bursts into flames when he realizes that Chrom was still holding onto his arm. 

"...Robin? Hey, Robin. Are you alright?" Chrom's worried voice breaks through Robin's quickly derailing train of thought. 

Robin snatches his arm out of Chrom's grasp, pretending to get something out of his backpack (but he doesn't miss the disappointed look that flickers across Chrom's face).

"Yeah! I - uh - could you repeat whatever you just said? Sorry, I was...distracted."

A small smile makes its way onto Chrom's lips. "I was just wondering if I could get your phone number."

Robin isn't sure how he reacts, but it must be enough to make Chrom nervous, because Chrom starts waving his hands frantically.

"No, not like that! I just meant - you did say that you wanted to study together sometime, didn't you? So this way, it'll be easier to schedule dates."

"Well...sure." Robin fumbles with his phone, passing it to Chrom, wondering if the word "dates" was intentional. He inputs his own number into Chrom's phone, then watches as Chrom does the same with his phone.

"Great! Thanks." Chrom pockets his phone, glancing hopefully at Robin. "See you soon, then?"

"Of course."

And as Chrom walks away, Robin feels lightheaded.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"And he just. Approached me! Why would he do that? Doesn't he have some sort of reputation to keep up? If people weren't talking before, they definitely will now."

Draped across the couch, Henry lazily raises a shoulder in a halfhearted shrug. "Maybe he likes you. I think he likes you."

Robin continues pacing across the room, vehemently shaking his head. "If he really is a popular athlete, then doesn't he have, I don't know, admirers or something? And I'm just one guy who helped him with his math homework. Once."

"You like him, don't you?" Henry slants his eyes in Robin's direction. "You like like him. That really is adorable."

"I - " Robin opens and closes his mouth. "We've only talked twice, but - "

"Then go for it!" Henry practically chirps. "I wouldn't be with Freddy right now if I hadn't just came out and told him that I liked him. He's so bad at talking about feelings, but that's what's adorable about h - hey! Where are you going?"

"Out to meet Chrom, we have another study session today."

"Ooh, a date?" Henry's grin grows wider. 

"I don't think so, no."

Robin grimaces, then pauses in the doorway. "And not a word of this to Frederick, alright?"

"Aw, you take the fun out of everything!"

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chrom starts apologizing before Robin even sits down.

"I am so sorry about before - I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, I just saw you across campus and I wasn't thinking - "

He trails off, confused, when Robin bursts into laughter.

"It's fine, you just took me by surprise. That's all."

Robin deposits his notebooks on the table, steadfastly attributing the flutters in his stomach to hunger, and not because he could have sworn that Chrom had gotten even cuter in the past twenty-four hours - 

Stop it, he thinks, shaking his head and immediately immersing himself in Chrom's math problems.

Time passes (far too quickly, Robin thinks). Robin is enjoying himself far too much, and Chrom states multiple times that he's learned more in the past few hours than he ever has in class. They've been shushed multiple times by the old couple a table away from them and given dirty looks by one of the baristas for not ordering anything, but neither Chrom nor Robin found it in themselves to care much.

Until, that is, Robin's stomach develops a mind of its own and lets out a grumble that he swears half the shop can hear.

Chrom lets out a rather unbecoming snort. "Hungry?"

Robin buries his face in his hands. "Shut up."

I must say, though, it is time for a break. Stay here, I'll be right back."

"Mmph." Robin rests his head on the table, still stewing in embarrassment. 

A minute passes. Then two. Curious (and a little worried), Robin lifts his head up to search for Chrom.

Who he almost immediately spots, walking towards their table with an innocent grin on his face and a plate of the most wonderful looking cookies.

(Or maybe that's just the hunger talking, Robin thinks. Definitely the hunger.)

"Sorry that took so long," Chrom offers guiltily. "I didn't know that there would be such a long line, and - "

"Line?" Robin blinks. "Oh, no, did you just go and buy this?"

"Er. Yes?"

Robin resists the urge to bury his face in his hands again. "You didn't - you really didn't have to. Besides, I didn't bring my wallet today, how am I supposed to pay you back?"

"You don't." Chrom slides the plate across the table, putting a finger to his lips. "Consider this my treat."

And as Robin reaches for a cookie, it's all he can do to not die of embarrassment right then and there.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chrom: hey. I was thinking

Chrom: why don't you come over to my place next time? it's quieter here

Chrom: the WiFi's better, too

Robin: if it isn't too much trouble, then sure :)

Chrom: great! I'll send you my address

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adrenaline running through his veins, Robin rings the doorbell to Chrom's apartment.

He leans back against the door, a tray of cookies balanced on one knee, allowing himself to take in the view and appreciate how quiet it was here compared to the apartment complex that Robin himself lived in. No arguments over stolen laundry, no escaped pets just waiting for someone to step on them, no -

"WAUGH!" Robin yells as Chrom's door opens suddenly, causing him to lose his balance and fall backwards, dropping the cookies.

Two strong arms catch Robin, suspending him two feet above the ground.

"We really need to stop meeting like this," Robin splutters through his tomato-red face, hurriedly righting himself and trying not to think about how nice it had been to be in Chrom's arms for those few brief seconds.

To make things even worse, Chrom starts laughing. Not the delicate kind of laugh, either - the loud, booming, fill-a-room kind of laugh.

Robin immediately decides that this was a bad idea. A very bad idea.

Chrom claps Robin on the back, nearly sending him toppling over again. "Don't stress over it; I don't mind. Come on, we'll be in the kitchen today."

Hastily, Robin picks up his cookies and follows Chrom indoors..

"Normally it's noisier than this," Chrom calls over his shoulder, oblivious to Robin gazing in sheer amazement at the size of the interior of the house. "My parents are out helping Emmeryn move into her new house, but I think Lissa's home. LISSA!"

A small blonde - Robin vaguely remembers seeing her with Chrom's friends long ago - pokes her head out from what Robin assumes is the dining room. "Yeah? Oh, finally decided to bring your boyfriend over, did you?"

Both Chrom and Robin stop in their tracks, spluttering.

"O-Okay, we're gonna be in the kitchen studying, so knock before you come in, yeah?"

Lissa snorts. "Suure. 'Studying.' Don't worry, though. I got you."

"Great, thanks." Chrom places both his hands on Robin's shoulders, steering him towards the kitchen.

"Boyfriend, huh?" Robin chuckles once they're safely inside the kitchen.

Chrom flushes beet-red. "I - I don't know where on earth she got that idea. Honest."

"Whatever you say." Robin grins and sets the now-battered cookie tray on the table in the middle of the kitchen. "By the way, I made cookies. To pay you back for last week."

"I didn't know you could bake."

"Neither did I, honestly. Henry actually tried to help me, but I managed to shoo him out of the apartment before he accidentally poisoned the batter."

"Sounds tough." Chrom stretches his arm across the table to steal a cookie.

Robin swats Chrom's hand. "You're not even listening, are you?"

"I am, I swear!"

Snorting, Robin reaches for a cookie himself, absentmindedly wondering whether or not Henry really had managed to do something to the batter.

So lost in thought, in fact, that he doesn't realize that his hand had brushed against Chrom's; he doesn't realize that his hand had unconsciously grabbed onto Chrom's until Chrom stifffens and clears his throat.

"Oh. Oh my God, I am so so sorry about that." Robin rips his hand out of Chrome's blushing profusely. "I wasn't thinking, and I - "

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that."

Chrom opens and closes his mouth, then clears his throat.

Robin raises a hand. "No, please. I know I overstepped my bounds. Let's just forget - "

"Robin, listen - "

"Chrom - "

Before Robin has any time to react, Chrom leans across the table and kisses him.

Shocked, Robin straightens and is incapable of thinking about anything other than how soft Chrom's mouth is compared to the rest of him. He doesn't even realize that he hadn't been kissing back until Chrom's pulling away, and his only response is no, not yet.

So instead, he reaches up to thread his fingers through Chrom's hair and leans into the kiss, relief evident in the way he holds himself.

They only pull away when the lack of oxygen makes it hard to breathe, and even then, they keep their foreheads pressed together to keep the bare minimum of space between them.

"Well?" Chrom smiles, hand resting lightly on the back of Robin's neck. "Now will you listen to me?"

Jokingly, Robin pretends to consider it. "Maybe."

Chrom closes his eyes, laughing softly. "I think I - no, I know that I'm in love with you, and I know that it's only been, what? One month since I've gotten to know you? So I would understand completely if you were to reject me in favor of someone else, but - "

"But, that isn't happening anytime soon, so I guess you're just stuck with me now." Robin grins, leaning forward to press a gentler kiss onto Chrom's lips.

"Oh, how awful. I can already imagine how miserable I'm going to be."

Robin leans away, makes a face, and punches Chrom in the arm.

"So...are we...boyfriends now?"

One of Chrom's hands drops down and covers Robin's hand, giving it a small squeeze.

"Yeah, I guess we are."

**Author's Note:**

> uhhhh come yell at me @axlotlols on twitter


End file.
